7 Shortest Reigns in English History

Richard III (2 years, 57 days)

King Richard III is still regarded as one of the most divisive monarchs in English history. He was King Edward IV’s younger brother, and he played an important role during his brother’s reign. Richard claimed the throne after his brother died and his nephews vanished from the Tower of London. He was the last Yorkist King and the last person in the Plantagenet line when he was defeated by Henry Tudor’s forces at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. In 2012, his body was discovered beneath a Leicester car park and reburied in Greyfriars Church.

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